AUGUSTA — Maine Gov. Paul LePage hopes to turn the state’s ethics panel into a truth squad that checks the veracity of claims made by politicians, but the bill’s prospects of becoming law appeared dim Wednesday as opponents warned it could violate the First Amendment’s protection of free speech. The plan directs the Maine Commission on […]
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Senate unplugs LePage bill to remove Maine’s cap on hydropower
More energy coverage: House passes bill with rebates for solar panels, heat pumps AUGUSTA — By a broad bipartisan margin, the state Senate on Wednesday again unplugged a proposal in which Republican Gov. Paul LePage sought to remove a 100-megawatt cap on hydropower, which is required in the state’s renewable energy portfolio. LePage has argued that […]
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House passes bill with rebates for solar panels, heat pumps
More energy coverage: Senate unplugs LePage bill to remove Maine’s cap on hydropower Key to the support was an amendment to the bill by state Rep. Lance Harvell, R-Farmington, that creates another rebate program for heat pumps when they are installed by low-income families. The measure allows up to a $2,000 rebate from the state. Harvell’s […]
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Maine committee reviews bills aimed at welfare fraud and abuse; told to save Parents as Scholars Program
AUGUSTA — Ask Heidi Hart about a state program that helped lift her and her daughter out of poverty and Hart will tell you the Parents as Scholars Program was essential to changing her life and the lives of hundreds of other Maine families. Hart, now a lawyer, urged lawmakers Tuesday to reject a proposal […]
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Judge sets bail for Danforth couple arrested on meth charges after baby’s death
MACHIAS — A Danforth couple charged with manufacturing methamphetamine will receive court-appointed attorneys, a Washington County Superior Court judge decided Monday. Justice Robert Murray also set bail Monday for Allen Richardson and Tabbatha Osnoe, whose infant son died Friday morning and whose mobile home was heavily damaged by fire the same morning. Richardson, 39, and […]
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Maine student scores drop on reading and math exams
AUGUSTA — Maine students in grades three through eight scored lower on the state’s reading and math exams in 2013 than they did the year before. The tests were taken by nearly all students last October and are used to satisfy state and federal school accountability requirements. The scores also are used to determine each […]
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LePage lays out Maine welfare reform plan, EBT card limits
AUGUSTA — Republican Gov. Paul LePage on Monday unveiled a set of four bills that would place more restrictions on how welfare benefits can be used in Maine. Among the reforms LePage is proposing are ones that would require the recipient’s photograph on a state-issued Electronic Benefit Card, one requiring a work search before applying […]
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Average cost of gas in Maine a penny less than last week
AUGUSTA (AP) — The average retail cost of a gallon of gas in Maine has fallen by a little more than a penny in the past week. Price-monitoring website GasBuddy.com reports Monday that the price at the pump has gone down to an average of $3.61 per gallon in the past week, 10 cents above […]
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New FDA rules may cut long-standing ties between beer makers, farmers
BANGOR — America’s booming brewing industry and farmers alike are bothered and befuddled by a proposed U.S. Food and Drug Administration rule change that could alter a partnership that dates back to Neolithic times. In Maine and across the country, brewers and farmers have formed handshake agreements: Brewers brew beer, producing barrels or truckloads full […]
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Bowdoin College gets Winslow Homer’s camera
BRUNSWICK (AP) — A camera that once belonged to artist Winslow Homer has been donated to Bowdoin College’s museum. The camera was made by Mawson & Swan Co. around 1880 and purchased by Homer in 1882 when he lived in northern England. The camera was donated by Scarborough resident Neal Paulsen. Paulsen got it from […]